behemoth

behemoth a huge or monstrous creature. The name comes from a Hebrew word occurring several times in the Old Testament and generally translated as ‘beast’; however, in Job 40:15, the Authorized Version has ‘behemoth’. The animal mentioned in Job is probably the hippopotamus, but the word came to be used generally for a particularly large and strong animal.

Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

behemoth

be·he·moth
/ biˈhēmə[unvoicedth]; ˈbēəmə[unvoicedth]/
•
n.
a huge or monstrous creature. ∎
something enormous, esp. a big and powerful organization:
shoppers are now more loyal to their local stores than to faceless behemoths.

Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

behemoth

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.

Copyright The Columbia University Press

behemoth (bē´hĬmŏth, bĬhē´–) [Heb.,=plural of beast], large, fanciful primeval monster, like Leviathan, evoking the hippopotamus mentioned in the Book of Job. In the Book of Psalms the term occurs in a non-mythological context.

Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.